ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
ITALY HONOURS THE INDIAN ARMY CONTRIBUTION IN SECOND WORLD WAR
Remembering the supreme sacrifices by the Indian Soldiers, the Commune of Monotone  and Italian Military historians have unveiled “V.C Yeshwant Ghadge Sundial Memorial” at Montone , as a tribute to the Indian troops who fought during Italian Campaign during the Second World War, and to honour Naik Yeshwant Ghadge, Victoria Cross, who was killed in action fighting on the heights of Upper Tiber Valley. Dr Neena Malhotra, Ambassador of India in Italy and the Indian Defence Attaché represented India during the ceremony. A large number of Italian citizens, distinguished guests and members of Italian Armed Forces also graced the occasion.
Indian Soldiers played a central role in the Italian Campaign during the Second World War, wherein more than 50,000 Indian Army soldiers from 4th, 8th and 10th Divisions were involved. Out of the 20 Victoria Crosses awarded in Italy, six were won by Indian soldiers. Indian soldiers suffered 23,722 casualties, of which 5,782 Indian soldiers made the supreme sacrifice, and are commemorated in the 40 Commonwealth War Graves spread all over Italy.
In order to make this memorial a participative endeavor, an Indian Army plaque has been placed at the memorial commemorating the gallant sacrifice of all ranks of the Indian Army who fought in the Italian Campaign.
The memorial is in the form of a live Sundial. The motto of the memorial is "Omines Sub Eodem Sole" which translates in English as "We all live under the same sun".
Inauguration of this Memorial honouring the contributions during Italian Campaign is a testimony to the fact that Italy holds in high reverence the supreme sacrifices and contributions by the Indian Soldiers during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War.
Ministry of Mines
Mineral Production during February 2021 
The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of February, 2021  at 116.5, was 5.5% lower as compared to the level in the month of February, 2020. The cumulative growth for the period April- February, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year has been  9.6 percent.
Production level of important minerals in February, 2021 were: Coal 746 lakh tonnes, Lignite 38 lakh tonnes, Natural gas  2235 million cu. m., Petroleum  23 lakh tonnes, Bauxite 1897 thousand tonnes, Chromite 544 thousand tonnes, Copper conc. 10 thousand tonnes , Gold 128 kg, Iron ore 207 lakh tonnes, Lead conc. 34 thousand tonnes, Manganese ore 285 thousand tonnes, Zinc conc. 131 thousand tonnes, Limestone 333 lakh tonnes, Phosphorite 133 thousand tonnes, Magnesite 10 thousand tonnes and Diamond 34 carat.
The production of important minerals showing positive growth during February, 2021 over February, 2020 include: Chromite’ , ‘Phosphorite’ , ‘Lead conc.’ , ‘Copper conc.’ , ‘Manganese Ore’ , ‘Limestone’  and The production of other important minerals showing negative growth is: ‘Gold’ [ 98.8%], ‘Lignite’ [ 20.4%], ‘Iron ore’ [ 13.3%], ‘Magnesite [ 9.9%] , ‘Zinc conc.’ [ 7.5%], ‘Bauxite’ [ 5.6%], ‘Coal’ [ 4.4%], ‘Petroleum ’ [ 3.3%] and ‘Natural Gas ’ [ 1%].
Ministry of Science & Technology
Best practices adopted under the ‘Special campaign for Disposal of Pending matters’  –Launch of e-Portal by Regional Center for Biotechnology an autonomous institute of DBT
As a part of ‘Special campaign for Disposal of Pending matters’  of GOI, Department of Biotechnology  has identified Digitization as one of the focus areas, which will result in better record management, improve work efficiencies, enhance transparency and contribute towards a sustainable future.
In consonance with the central philosophy of this campaign, an e-Portal has been designed as a best practice by Regional Center for Biotechnology an autonomous institute of DBT. This portal will caters to all the academic affairs of the student community. This ‘Academic Portal’  has been launched and is fully functional. A link of the same has been provided in RCB web portal.
Henceforth, all academic activities such as attendance, assignments, SAC formation, research proposal, progress report, etc. pertaining to all students in RCB and affiliated institutes shall be paperless and will be carried out through the academic portal.
Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary DBT, congratulated RCB for launching a student friendly academic portal and said that the RCB being a nodal institute for the academic activities of the Department has taken the right initiative which can be emulated by other DBT Autonomous Institutions.
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Ministry of Tribal Affairs
National Workshops on Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana begins
A two day “National Workshop on Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana ” begins here today. PMVDY is a component of 100 days plan of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The workshop has been organized to take stock of all the activities under the program and to plan the future steps. Participants from 25 States are participating in the workshop along with the TRIFED team.
Addressing the participants Shri Pravin Krishna, MD, TRIFED said that Van Dhan Scheme is creating tribal entrepreneur and it is not a MSP programme. He emphasised that Branding, Packaging and Marketing of tribal products are very important factors. Also a loyal network of Retailers needs to be created by paying them a good commission. He said that a good business model needs to be adopted alongwith robust technological support and focus should be on value addition.
TRIFED has so far received and sanctioned 555 VDVK proposals from the 15 states i.e. Andhra Pradesh , Assam , Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Gujarat , Jharkhand , Karanataka , Madhya Pradesh , Maharashtra , Manipur , Nagaland , Odisha , Rajasthan , Tamil Nadu  and Uttar Pradesh .
The State Nodal Departments and the implementing agencies of the States need to take necessary action for establishment of Van Dhan Kendras in their respective States, including one model Demo VDVK centre in each state. The senior officials from each of the state nodal/implementing agency is expected to present a brief of post-sanction activities being undertaken in the state w.r.t. implantation of PMVDY.
There are around 208 VDVK proposals in the pipe line from the States of Madhya Pradesh , Manipur and Mizoram  which are expected to be received and sanctioned by 10th November, 2019. The respective State Nodal Departments/Implementing agencies need to submit the same at the earliest and also present brief of the activities being undertaken in the Sates w.r.t. implementation of PMVDY. Besides, the remaining States wherever the implementation of PMVDY is yet to initiate, need to take required action and submit VDVK proposals immediately.
All the all relevant documents, including guidelines, operational procedures, processes involved, proposal formats, business models, FAQs and pre and post sanction activities, etc. relating to the Van Dhan Karyakram have been uploaded on dashboard titled “State Monitoring of Van Dhan” as per the link given: - State Monitoring of Van Dhan – Google Sheets. The above Dashboard has been created to monitor the activities as well as to highlight issues which need redressal. The State Nodal Departments/State Implementing agencies have already been requested to nominate a nodal person and a team from their end, who could coordinate and update the Van Dhan Dashboard on regular basis.
TRIFED is in the process of developing an IT-platform and mobile application for PMVDY. The different features of the same are being discussed and shared with all the stakeholders in the workshop for their feedback. The SRS document for IT platform and Mobile App. have been uploaded on the Van Dhan Dashboard.
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves proposed combination relating to acquisition of Principal Asset Management Private Limited, Principal Trustee Company Private Limited and Principal Retirement Advisors Private Limited by Sundaram Asset Management Company Limited
The Competition Commission of India  approves the proposed combination relating to acquisition of Principal Asset Management Private Limited, Principal Trustee Company Private Limited and Principal Retirement Advisors Private Limited by Sundaram Asset Management Company Limited.
The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of 100% of the issued and paid- up equity share capital of:  Principal Asset Management Private Limited ;  Principal Trustee Company Private Limited  and  Principal Retirement Advisors Private Limited  by Sundaram Asset Management Company Limited . As part of the proposed combination, the schemes of the Principal Mutual Fund  shall be transferred to Sundaram Mutual Fund  and the trusteeship and management of the PMF schemes shall be transferred to Sundaram Trustee Company Limited  and SAMC, respectively .
SAMC is a public limited company incorporated in India. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sundaram Finance Limited . SAMC is the investment manager for SMF and manages funds that cater to the investment needs of investors with different risk, reward and liquidity preferences.
PAMPL is engaged in the business of providing asset management services to the PMF and operating/ managing the PMF schemes.
PTCPL is engaged in the business of providing trusteeship services to the PMF.
PRAPL provides  long term investment and retirement planning and advisory solutions;  provides services pertaining to procurement, solicitation and distribution of insurance products and policies and  association of Mutual Funds in India as a distributor of mutual funds.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves Amendment to the Central Universities Act, 2009 for setting up of Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved setting up of a Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh. The "Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh" will be set up in Relli village of Vizianagaram District as provided under the Thirteenth Schedule to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 . Cabinet has also approved the provision of funds of Rs. 420 crore for the first phase expenditure towards establishment of the Central Tribal University.
Department of Space
Indian Astronomers discover one of the farthest Star galaxies in the universe.
As a landmark achievement in Space missions, Indian Astronomers have discovered one of the farthest Star galaxies in the universe.
Sharing this information here today, Union Minister of State , Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is a matter of pride that India’s first Multi-Wavelength Space Observatory "AstroSat" has detected extreme-UV light from a galaxy located 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth. The galaxy called AUDFs01 was discovered by a team of Astronomers led by Dr Kanak Saha from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics Pune.
The importance and uniqueness of this original discovery can be made out from the fact that it has been reported in the leading international journal “Nature Astronomy” published from Britain. India's AstroSat/UVIT was able to achieve this unique feat because the background noise in the UVIT detector is much less than one on the Hubble Space Telescope of US based NASA.
Dr Jitendra Singh has congratulated India’s Space Scientists for once again proving to the world that India’s capability in Space technology has risen to a distinguished level from where our scientists are now offering cues and giving leads to the Space scientists in other parts of the world. According to Professor ShyamTandon, the excellent spatial resolution and high sensitivity is a tribute to the hard work of the UVIT core team of scientists for over a decade.
According to Director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics  Dr Somak Ray Chaudhury, this discovery is a very important clue to how the dark ages of the Universe ended and there was light in the Universe. We need to know when this started, but it has been very hard to find the earliest sources of light, he said.
Pertinent to mention that India’s first Space Observatory AstroSat, which has made this discovery, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization  on September 28, 2015 during the first term of the Modi Government. It was developed by a team led by ShyamTandon, Ex Emeritus Professor, IUCAA with the full support of ISRO.
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Ministry of Science & Technology
Integrating concepts at the intersection of algebra & geometry could provide better machine learning algorithms
This can lead to improved modelling of data arising from certain sources, such as visual observations
Scientists may soon develop robust algorithms that can provide more efficient machine learning applications by focusing on concepts that lie at the intersection of algebra and geometry.
Hariharan Narayanan, Assistant Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai, a recipient of this year’s SwarnaJayanti fellowship instituted by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, wishes to create machine learning algorithms that can learn from observations and make improved predictions based on mathematical objects known as manifolds and Lie groups. This can lead to improved modelling of data arising from certain sources, such as visual observations.
Machine learning can be broadly defined as a discipline whose goal is to enable a computer to make inferences from observed data about future observations. There are two directions in which progress is crucial to make progress in machine learning. The first is making inferences from very few observations. The second is dealing with complex data, which has come to prominence through recent applications in vision, imaging like Cryo-electron Microcrope and the World Wide Web.
The use of manifolds and Lie groups can help addressing both of these issues and may lead to algorithms that make better predictions in real-life applications.
[For more details, Dr. Hariharan Narayanan  can be contacted.]
Ministry of Civil Aviation
FREE HEALTH CHECKUP CAMP ORGANIZED AT NSCBI AIRPORT KOLKATA
Kolkata, Friday, April 26, 2019
A one-day medical health check-up camp was held at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on 24th April 2019 in association with Dafodil Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. at the meeting hall of New Operational Building of Airports Authority of India, Kolkata. Health check-ups at the medical camp included Blood Sugar, ECG and P.F.T test etc. for the employees, dependents and workers engaged by contractors of AAI. The team of Dr. Raktimavo Sarkar  and Dr. Bipul Roy  led the camp and motivated employees to keep periodic check on health to ensure healthy life. Total 184 members participated in the camp and were benefited by the various tests and consultation provided by the senior doctors.
Department of Space
4th Indian Planetary Science Conference  at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, 22-24 March 2023
The Indian Planetary Science Association  is organizing the 4th Indian Planetary Science Conference  at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. It is a three-day conference scheduled during 22-24 March 2023.
IPSA was established to promote Planetary Science activities in India, with an important task to create a much-needed Planetary Science community in India, in the context of future planetary missions, to Moon, Mars and Venus, and other planetary bodies, to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation , DOS. IPSA will encourage the Scientists and Accademia of India and generate a long-term vision with the participation of all stakeholders.
Initiated in 2020 as the first of its kind in the country, the main objective of IPSC is to provide a single platform for the planetary researchers to present and discuss their research accomplishments and subsequently drive the planetary exploration for India. The IPSC-2023 conference will discuss the Indian planetary missions already launched, the science derived from them, and provide a framework for future Indian missions and related challenges in terms of instrument development and exploration. The conference aims at highlighting the recent advances, results and studies related to the atmosphere, surface, and interior of planetary bodies in the solar system, including planetary processes, and early solar system evolution. Around two hundred delegates comprising young researchers, distinguished scientists and engineers will attend the conference from various academic and research institutes across the country and the ISRO/DOS centres.
Shri S. Somanath, Chairman, ISRO & Secretary, DoS, will inaugurate the IPSC-2023 and deliver the inaugural talk on “Indian Capabilities for Space and Planetary Exploration” on 22 March morning. Shri A. S. Kiran Kumar, Former Chairman ISRO/Secretary DOS, and currently the Chairman of the PRL Council of Management, will deliver a keynote address in the inaugural function.
The scientific programme consists of the various sessions, viz., Lunar Science and Exploration, Martian Atmosphere and Surface Processes, Space and Planetary Instrumentation, Solar System Processes, Meteorites and Small Bodies, Venusian Atmosphere and Surface Processes, and Astrobiology, Astrochemistry and Exoplanets.
A public Lecture on 22 March evening at 6 PM is also arranged as a part of the 5th PRL–IAPT Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Lecture.
GP/JD
સોશિયલ મીડિયા પર અમને ફોલો કરો : @PIBAhmedabad /pibahmedabad1964 /pibahmedabad pibahmedabad1964[at]gmail[dot]com
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Ministry of Finance
India to conduct 1st National Time Release Study to enable faster movement of cargo across borders to benefit traders
The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, as part of its strategic commitment to improve global trade, is conducting India’s first national Time Release Study  between 1st – 7th August. The exercise will be institutionalized on an annual basis, during the same period every year hereafter. The TRS is an internationally recognized tool advocated by World Customs Organization to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of international trade flows.
This initiative for accountable governance, will measure rule based and procedural bottlenecks  in the clearance of goods, from the time of arrival until the physical release of cargo. The aim is to identify and address bottlenecks in the trade flow process and take the corresponding policy and operational measures required to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures, without compromising efficient trade control. Expected beneficiaries of this initiative will be export oriented industries and MSMEs, who will enjoy greater standardization of Indian processes with comparable international standards.
This initiative will help India maintain the upward trajectory on Ease of Doing Business, particularly on the Trading Across Borders indicator which measures the efficiency of the cross border trade ecosystem. Last year India’s ranking on the indicator improved from 146 to 80.
Previously individual customs formations had been independently conducting TRS studies at the port level. The national TRS has taken this a step further and evolved a uniform, multi-dimensional methodology which measures the regulatory and logistics aspects of the cargo clearance process and establishes the average release time for goods.
The exercise will be conducted at the same time across 15 ports including sea, air, land and dry ports which cumulatively account for 81% of total Bills of Entries for import and 67% of Shipping Bills for export filed within India. The national TRS will establish baseline performance measurement and have standardized operations and procedures across all ports.
Based on the results of the TRS, government agencies associated with cross border trade will be able to diagnose existing and potential bottlenecks which act as barriers to the free flow of trade, and take remedial actions for reducing the cargo release time. The initiative is on ground lead by the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs.
Ministry of Communications
6G Technology
The Department of Telecommunications has constituted a Technology Innovation Group on 6G  on 1st November 2021 with members from various Ministries/Departments, research and development institutions, academia, standardization bodies, Telecom Service Providers and industry to develop Vision, Mission and Goals for the 6G and also develop roadmap and action plans for 6G in India. The TIG-6G has constituted six Task Forces with industry, academia, R&D institutions and Government as members on Multi-Disciplinary Innovative Solutions, Multiplatform Next Generation Networks, Spectrum for Next Generation Requirements, Devices, International Standards Contribution and Funding Research and Development. India is also contributing to International Telecommunications Union  in 6G visioning exercise.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM condoles loss of lives due to an accident in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, Chhattisgarh
Announces ex-gratia from PMNRF for the victims
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the loss of lives due to an accident in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district of Chhattisgarh. Shri Modi also announced an ex-gratia from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund  for the victims of a road accident in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district of Chhattisgarh.
The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted;
“Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, Chhattisgarh. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon: PM @narendramodi”
“An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the accident in Balodabazar-Bhatapara district. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi”